E108: How To Succeed In Trucking & Freight Brokerage In 2023

In this podcast, we'll be chatting with Tim Breckenridge, the Sr. VP & Co-Founder at Rocket Logistics, who has a wealth of experience in the logistics industry. Tim started his career at Echo Logistics and then moved on to doing sales for asset companies. He's now focused on expanding the customer base at Rocket Logistics, while also advising trucking companies on how to secure direct shippers and increase their profitability. With Tim's extensive knowledge and expertise, you're sure to gain valuable insights and strategies that can help take your trucking business or freight brokerage to the next level. More information about Rocket Logistics: Rocket Logistics is a women-owned and operated full truckload brokerage. We are proud to take a different approach to partnerships than most of our competitors. We start with our carriers, build strong partnerships with small to mid-sized fleets, and understand their network needs. We then find the right freight to match through our strategic shipper partnerships. This allows us to take a capacity-in-hand approach to contract freight awards with our shippers. We can provide our shipper partners with the equipment and ease of management they need, while also providing the lane density, equipment utilization, and contractual freight rates our carrier partners are seeking. Ken Adamo, Chief of Data Analytics at DAT recently said that over 90% of brokers cover their contractual RFP awards with spot market carriers. We are proud to be in the top 10% who take a more sustainable and effective approach to relationship management. When it comes to service, we pride ourselves on doing normally unexceptional things exceptionally well. Because we have reliably sourced capacity and strong carrier partners we aim to be as transparent as possible. Our carriers know our margins, and our shippers know our carriers. We bring all parties to the table to ensure that we are providing the best service possible. When you are building your business in a sustainable way, you don't have to do it behind closed doors. We understand that the industry is progressing quickly and things that used to be notable exceptions are becoming table stakes for many shippers. We are here to meet our shipper partners' requirements, and we have robust reporting systems to monitor our carrier performance and our performance, full API integrations for tracking visibility, more than adequate insurance coverages, and experienced account managers who align with our shippers' profiles. We are proud of our unrelenting commitment to setting the industry standard for customer service and carrier partnerships. Our mission is to impact as many people as we can. We want to make a difference in the lives of the people we employ, the carriers we provide revenue opportunities to, the shippers we help drive efficiencies, and the end users of our customers’ products who rely on their products every day. Podcast Chapters: 04:10 - Best Way to Set Up With a New Shipper? Bob talks about his successful approach to visiting shippers directly, while Tim shares his experience with email campaigns for a large fleet. 10:13 - The Pros & Cons of Going Directly with a Shipper Discussion about the balance carriers should have between working with direct shippers and freight brokers, with the pros and cons of each approach. 16:36 - What is Bob's Breakeven to Run His Truck? Bob shares his breakeven point and shows his trucking report from last week. 25:03 - Food Shippers Conference Discussion on what shippers are looking for and the conversations they had at a food shippers conference. 32:06 - Rocket Logistics Strategy to Get In With Shippers By Going to the Carrier First Rocket Logistics' approach to getting in with shippers and why they rarely post loads. 38:30 - Contract v. Spot Freight Discussion about the differences between contract and spot freight, and the importance of not throwing labor at the problem. 42:30 - Bob: What If I Went to a Shipper Right Now & Said I need $3/mile? Discussion on the importance of committing to a rate and how it can impact profitability. 56:30 - Bob Talks About the 'Slaviv' Mentality in Trucking Bob discusses the challenges of the trucking industry and the mindset needed to succeed. 1:01:00 - Should The Industry Be Regulated? Discussion on whether the trucking industry should be regulated and the potential benefits and drawbacks.